PRESS RELEASES

He began by saying, "Yesterday was a very important and historic day for us." At some point in his speech he said: "Half the journey is taking the first step. The presidents have come half way. Having reached the half-way point they instructed their ministers to accomplish the rest of the journey." Armenian's Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbantyan invited us to lunch. In the Foreign Ministry, one of the splendid buildings surrounding Republic Square in Yerevan, we sat in his office and talked about Abdullah Gul's "historic visit" and we lunched together. Sitting at the table and translating for us was Arsen Avakyan, who had translated for Gul and Sarkisyan during their meeting.

The membership of the Policy Forum Armenia is deeply alarmed with the recent events unfolding in Armenia. We condemn, in the strongest terms, any use of violence and brutality against peaceful and unarmed civilian demonstrators, such as that which occurred in the early hours of March 1 and throughout the day. We mourn the loss of life, and we place the ultimate responsibility for such loss with those who ordered force against peaceful demonstrators in their sleep in Liberty Square, Armenia’s symbol of freedom.